Wembley Central station

London Underground and railway station

Wembley Central

Wembley Central

Location of Wembley Central in Greater London

Location| Wembley
Local authority| London Borough of Brent
Managed by| London Underground[1]
Owner| Network Rail
Station code(s)| WMB
DfT category| C2
Number of platforms| 6 (4 in regular use)
Accessible| Yes[2]
Fare zone| 4
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019|  5.65 million[3]
2020|  3.77 million[4]
2021|  2.71 million[5]
2022|  4.37 million[6]
2023|  4.60 million[7]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20|  3.521 million[8]
– interchange|  0.145 million[8]
2020–21|  1.345 million[8]
– interchange|  46,777[8]
2021–22|  2.732 million[8]
– interchange|  92,052[8]
2022–23|  3.340 million[8]
– interchange|  50,670[8]
2023–24|  3.710 million[8]
– interchange|  59,289[8]
Key dates
1842| Station opened as "Sudbury"
1 May 1882| Renamed "Sudbury & Wembley"
1 November 1910| renamed "Wembley for Sudbury"
16 April 1917| Bakerloo line
1948| Street level buildings reconstructed within shopping arcade
5 July 1948| renamed "Wembley Central"
24 September 1982| Bakerloo line service withdrawn
4 June 1984| Bakerloo line service re-instated
June 2008| Station building demolished for re-development
2009-2015| Major re-development of the station and the area.
Other information
External links|

* TfL station info page
* Departures
* Facilities

Coordinates| 51°33′09″N 0°17′48″W﻿ / ﻿51.5526°N 0.2966°W﻿ / 51.5526; -0.2966
London transport portal

Wembley Central is an interchange station in Wembley, north-west London. It is situated on the east-west High Road and is near to both Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena. The station provides an interchange between Bakerloo line services of the London Underground; Lioness line services of the London Overground; and National Rail services operated by Southern on the West Coast main line.

## History

[edit]

Location of Wembley Central station

On 20 July 1837, the London and Birmingham Railway line opened, and in 1842 this station opened as "Sudbury". It was later renamed to "Sudbury and Wembley" in 1882, and then again to "Wembley for Sudbury" in 1910, coinciding with the construction of the LNWR New Line. Bakerloo line services over the New Line began on 16 April 1917.

In 1936 street level buildings were reconstructed with a shopping arcade, and in 1948, further work took place in preparation for the Olympic Games at Wembley Stadium. The station was renamed again on 5 July 1948, this time to "Wembley Central", the name that is still in use. Station Square was constructed by Ravenseft Properties Limited in 1965, taking the form of a 2+1⁄2 acres (1.0 ha) concrete raft over the station (see also Stratford Centre), providing most of the current station layout.[9] Bakerloo line services were withdrawn on 24 September 1982, but later reinstated on 4 June 1984.

In November 2007, station management transferred from Silverlink to London Underground. The 1936 and 1948 surface buildings were being demolished in June 2008 in preparation for redevelopment. Southern services between Milton Keynes and East Croydon began here in February 2009, with an off-peak service pattern of one train per hour per direction on Monday to Saturday. London Midland services between London Euston and Tring were introduced in December 2014, also with an off-peak service pattern of one train per hour per direction on Monday to Saturday, but this was later withdrawn in December 2022 by London Northwestern Railway.

## Accidents and incidents

[edit]

* On 13 October 1940, an express passenger train was derailed after it collided with a platform barrow obstructing the line. Several people were killed and many more were injured.[10]
* In 1984, a passenger train overran a signal and collided with a freight train, killing three people.[11]

## Services and operations

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

London Overground

|  |  |

Cheshunt

|  |

|
|
|
|

|  |

Theobalds Grove

|  |
|  |

Enfield Town

Turkey Street

Romford

|  |
|  |

Bush Hill Park

Southbury

Emerson Park

|  |
|  |

‹See TfM›Upminster

|  |
|  |

Edmonton Green

|  |
|  |

Silver Street

Chingford

|  |
|  |

White Hart Lane

Highams Park

|  |
|  |

Watford Junction

Bruce Grove

Wood Street

|  |
|  |

Watford

‹See TfM›Seven Sisters

‹See TfM›Walthamstow Central

|  |
|  |

High Street

Harringay

‹See TfM›Blackhorse Road

Walthamstow Queen's Road

|  |
|  |

Bushey

Green Lanes

|  |
|  |

Carpenders Park

Crouch Hill

South Tottenham

St. James

Leyton Midland Road

|  |
|  |

Hatch End

Upper ()

Stamford Hill

Street

Leytonstone

|  |
|  |

Headstone Lane

Holloway

Stoke Newington

Clapton

High Road

|  |
|  |

Harrow &

Kentish Town West

Rectory Road

Wanstead Park ()

|  |
|  |

Wealdstone

Gospel Oak

Camden Road ()

Hackney

Woodgrange Park ()

|  |
|  |

‹See TfM›Kenton ()

Caledonian Road

Canonbury

Downs

‹See TfM›Barking

|  |
|  |

‹See TfM›South Kenton

& Barnsbury

Barking Riverside ()

|  |
|  |

North

‹See TfM›Highbury & Islington

Dalston Kingsland

Hackney
Central

|  |
|  |

Wembley

Hampstead Heath

Dalston

|  |
|  |

Wembley

Finchley Road & Frognal ()

Junction

London Fields

|  |
|  |

Central

West Hampstead ( )

Haggerston

Cambridge

Homerton

|  |
|  |

Stonebridge

Brondesbury

Hoxton

Heath

Hackney Wick

|  |
|  |

Park

Brondesbury Park

Shoreditch High Street

Bethnal Green

‹See TfM›Stratford

|  |
|  |

‹See TfM›Harlesden

Kensal Rise

|  |
|  |

‹See TfM›Kensal Green

Liverpool

‹See TfM›Whitechapel

|  |
|  |

Willesden

Queen's Park

Street

Shadwell ()

|  |
|  |

Junction

Kilburn High Road

Wapping

|  |
|  |

South Hampstead

Rotherhithe

|  |
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Shepherd's Bush ()

Euston ()

‹See TfM›Canada Water

|  |
|  |

‹See TfM›Kensington (Olympia)

Surrey Quays

|  |
|  |

‹See TfM›West Brompton

Battersea Park

|  |
|  |

Imperial Wharf ()

(limited service)

New Cross

|  |
|  |

Clapham

Queens Road Peckham

New Cross Gate

|  |
|  |

Junction

Peckham Rye

Brockley

|  |
|  |

Acton Central

Wandsworth Road

Denmark Hill

Honor Oak Park

|  |
|  |

South Acton

() Clapham

Forest Hill

|  |
|  |

‹See TfM›Gunnersbury

High Street

Sydenham

|  |
|  |

Kew Gardens

|  |
|  |

Richmond

Crystal Palace

Penge West

|  |
|  |

Anerley

|  |
|  |

Norwood Junction

|  |
|  |

‹See TfM›West Croydon ()

|  |
|  |  |  |  |  |

Legend

|  |  |

Station

National Rail

Liberty line

|  |

|
|
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|

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Accessible station

Thameslink

Lioness line

|  |
|  |

Interchange station

Elizabeth line

Mildmay line

|  |
|  |

Accessible interchange

Docklands Light Railway

Suffragette line

|  |
|  |

Internal interchange

London Underground

Weaver line

|  |
|  |

Out-of-station interchange

London Trams

Windrush line

|  |
|  |

( )

Nearby interchange

London River Services

|  |

The new London Overground line names and colours were introduced across the London rail network in November 2024

|  |  |  |  |  |

* v
* t
* e

West London Route

Legend

|  |  |

|  | Watford Junction

|
|
|
|

|  |

|  |

Greater London boundary

|  |

|  | Harrow & Wealdstone
|  |

|  | ‹See TfM›Wembley Central
|  |

|  |

| West Coast Main Line

to Euston

|  |

|  |

| North London line

to ‹See TfM›Stratford

|  |

|  |

Grand Union Canal

|  |

|  | Shepherd's Bush
|  |

|  | Kensington (Olympia)
|  |

|  | West Brompton
|  |

|  | Imperial Wharf
|  |

|  |

River Thames

|  |

|  |

| Brighton Main Line

to Victoria

|  |

|  | Clapham Junction
|  |

|  | Wandsworth Common
|  |

|  | Balham
|  |

|  | Streatham Common
|  |

|  | Norbury
|  |

|  | Thornton Heath
|  |

|  | Selhurst
|  |

|  | East Croydon
|  |

|  |

| Brighton Main Line

and Oxted line

|  |  |  |  |  |

Services at Wembley Central are operated by London Underground on the Bakerloo line, London Overground on the Lioness line, and Southern on the West London line. The off-peak service at the station in trains per hour is:

London Underground (Bakerloo line)

* 4 tph to Harrow & Wealdstone
* 4 tph to Elephant & Castle

London Overground (Lioness line)

* 4 tph to London Euston
* 4 tph to Watford Junction

Southern

* 1 tph to East Croydon
* 1 tph to Watford Junction

Preceding station  |  London Overground | Following station

|
|

North Wembley

towards Watford Junction

|  | Lioness line

Watford DC line

|  | Stonebridge Park

towards Euston

Preceding station  |  London Underground | Following station
North Wembley

towards Harrow & Wealdstone

|  | Bakerloo line |  | Stonebridge Park

towards Elephant & Castle

Preceding station  |  National Rail | Following station

Harrow & Wealdstone

| | Southern

West London Line

| |

Shepherd's Bush

Historical railways

Harrow & Wealdstone

| | London and North Western Railway

West Coast Main Line

| |

Willesden Junction

Wembley Central has the appearance of an underground station due to the elevated position of the High Road (where the main entrance was until recently behind a 1940s shopping arcade) and the enclosed nature of the platforms below the raft upon which Station Square is built; it is actually generally at or above the local ground level, having been reconstructed by British Rail in its current form during the 1960s electrification of the West Coast Main Line. It is the first station out of Euston to have platforms on all three pairs of tracks and the combination of the confined space and through trains passing at speed on platforms 3-6 (the main line platforms) create a wind tunnel effect which can be dangerous for passengers.[citation needed]

The station was modernised in 2006 by Silverlink with additional safety features.[12]

## Station works

[edit]

The passenger footbridge at the London end of the station, completed in late 2006 by civil engineers C Spencer Ltd, carries extra foot traffic to and from the platforms during event days at the nearby Wembley Stadium; the everyday access is at the "country" end of the platforms. In practice, this means the bridge is usually locked and out of use, only being opened when the stadium itself is in use.[13]

Other recent works include the resurfacing of platforms 1 and 2 complete with the installation of curved steel cladding panels also completed by contractor, C Spencer Ltd. The station's staff received refurbished messing facilities and new public toilets have also been installed.

In 2011–12, the station was made step-free, in preparation for the Olympics. A step-free route was provided between the station entrance and platforms 1 and 2 for the first time, with the installation of two new lifts and a stair lift. The toilets were refurbished to make them fully accessible. Two platforms were extended as well. This improvement scheme cost £2.5m.[14]

## Redevelopment

[edit]

Redevelopment seen in November 2009

In June 2008, the London Borough of Brent (Local council) planned that the station was going to be demolished for redevelopment, as part of the Wembley Central Square plan, by St. Modwen construction company (although the plan also included new apartments, shops and open space surface).

## Connections

[edit]

A map of Wembley Stadium in relation to Olympic Way, Wembley Central, Wembley Stadium and Wembley Park stations, and the A406 North Circular road (bottom right)

London Buses routes 18, 79, 83, 92, 182, 204, 223, 297, 483 and H17 and night routes N18 and N83 serve the station.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Safety boost as London Underground to take control of 11 Silverlink stations". Transport for London. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
2. ^ "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2021.
3. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
4. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
5. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
6. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
7. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
9. ^ "One of the largest private development schemes of BR air rights in the London area is progressing at Wembley Central". Modern Railways: 351. June 1965.
10. ^ Earnshaw, Alan (1990). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 6. Penryn: Atlantic Books. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-906899-37-0.
11. ^ Hall, Stanley (1990). The Railway Detectives. London: Ian Allan. p. 132\. ISBN 0-7110-1929-0.
12. ^ "wembleyway newsletter" (PDF). London Borough of Brent. November 2005. p. 3\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
13. ^ "Wembley Central Station Plan". Network Rail. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
14. ^ "Wembley Central station to be step-free in time for the Olympics". 1 September 2011. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2013.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wembley Central station.

* Train times and station information for Wembley Central station from National Rail

* v
* t
* e

Bakerloo line

Stations|

* Harrow & Wealdstone
* Kenton
* South Kenton
* North Wembley
* Wembley Central
* Stonebridge Park
* Harlesden
* Willesden Junction
* Kensal Green
* Queen's Park
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* Elephant and Castle (100m)

Non-revenue stations|

* Kilburn High Road

Rolling stock|

* 1972 Stock

Depots|

* Stonebridge Park

Proposed extension|

* Bakerloo line extension to Lewisham

History|

| Former companies|

* Baker Street & Waterloo Railway
* Underground Electric Railways Company of London

|

Former stations
now served by London Overground|

* Bushey
* Carpenders Park
* Hatch End
* Headstone Lane
* Watford High Street
* Watford Junction

Former stations
now served by Jubilee line|

* Canons Park
* Dollis Hill
* Finchley Road
* Kilburn
* Kingsbury tube station
* Neasden
* Queensbury
* Stanmore
* St John's Wood
* Swiss Cottage
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Former rolling stock|

* 1906 Stock
* 1914 Stock
* Watford Joint Stock
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Abandoned plans|

* Extension to Camberwell
* Extension to Cricklewood
* Extension to Old Kent Rd

* London Underground
* Transport for London

London transport portal

* v
* t
* e

London Overground

| Lioness line|

* Watford Junction
* Watford High Street
* Bushey
* Carpenders Park
* Hatch End
* Headstone Lane
* ‹See TfM›Harrow & Wealdstone
* ‹See TfM›Kenton
* ‹See TfM›South Kenton
* ‹See TfM›North Wembley
* ‹See TfM›Wembley Central
* ‹See TfM›Stonebridge Park
* ‹See TfM›Harlesden
* ‹See TfM›Willesden Junction
* ‹See TfM›Kensal Green
* Queens Park
* Kilburn High Road
* South Hampstead
* London Euston

|

Other topics

| Future plans|

| Planned and proposed stations|

* Brent Cross West
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* Junction Road
* Surrey Canal
* Old Oak Common Lane
* Hythe Road
* Primrose Hill

|

Planned and proposed routes|

* R25 (London)
* West London Orbital

Rolling stock|

| Current|

* Class 378
* Class 710

|

Former|

* Class 150
* Class 172
* Class 313
* Class 315
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* Class 508

Operations|

* Arriva Rail London
* London Overground Night Service
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History|

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London transport portal

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Transport in London

Companies and
organisations|

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London (TfL)|

| London Underground|

* Night Tube
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|

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* Gospel Oak to Barking
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London Buses|

*   * East London Transit
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Other|

* Coach station
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Bus operators|

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River operators|

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Train operators|

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Other|

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Airports|

| Within London|

* City
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* Military: Northolt
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|

Outside London|

* Gatwick
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Major stations|

| Central area|

* Baker Street
* Bank-Monument
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|

Other|

* Barking
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Roads|

| Motorways|

* M1
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* M25 London Orbital
* Former: M41 (West Cross Route)
* A40(M) (Westway)
* A102(M) (East Cross Route)

|

Ring roads|

* London Inner Ring Road
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Charging|

* Congestion charge
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Ticketing|

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Other|

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Former BR sectors|

* British Rail
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* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Southeastern routes

Southern routes serving this station

West London Route|

* Hemel Hempstead
* Watford Junction
* ‹See TfM›Harrow & Wealdstone
* ‹See TfM›Wembley Central
* Shepherd's Bush
* ‹See TfM›Kensington (Olympia)
* ‹See TfM›West Brompton
* Imperial Wharf
* Clapham Junction
* Wandsworth Common
* ‹See TfM›Balham
* Streatham Common
* Norbury
* Thornton Heath
* Selhurst
* ‹See TfM›East Croydon
* South Croydon
* Purley Oaks
* Purley
* Reedham
* Coulsdon Town

Stations in italics are served on limited occasions, at peak hours or on Sundays only.

* Govia
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* Gatwick Express

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